Jayson Tatum states NBA teams will regret passing on Kyle Filipowski in NBA Draft

It was a tough opening night of the NBA Draft for former Duke star Kyle Filipowski. Despite being projected as a first-round pick by most outlets, Filipowski did not hear his name called on Wednesday.

Instead, the second round will begin Thursday afternoon with the power forward still on the board.

Boston Celtics star Jayson Tatum, who recently helped his team to an NBA title, played at Duke before turning pro. Tatum believes a lot of teams will regret not taking Kyle Filipowski in the first round.

“Lot of teams gone regret passing up on Flip,” Jayson Tatum posted on Twitter.

Tatum very well could end up being right. Filipowski had an excellent couple of seasons at Duke.

After being ranked as a five-star recruit and the No. 5 overall player in the country in the class of 2022, per the On3 Industry rankings, he averaged nearly 16 points per game across two seasons with the Blue Devils.

As a sophomore in 2023-24, Filipowski averaged 16.4 points, 8.3 rebounds, 2.8 assists and 1.5 blocks per game. He shot 50.5 percent from the field and 34.8 percent from 3-point range.

As his numbers indicate, Filipowski is a versatile big man who can score around the basket and stretch the floor. He should be a valuable piece for an NBA franchise moving forward.

On3’s James Fletcher released his Round 2 NBA mock draft at the conclusion of the first round. Fletcher has Filipowski landing with the Utah Jazz at No. 32 overall.

What NBA experts are saying about Kyle Filipowski

Ahead of the 2024 NBA Draft, James Fletcher posted information about each of his top 40 prospects. He ranked Kyle Filipowski No. 17 overall and broke down what he likes about the 6-11 forward’s game.

Here’s what Fletcher had to say:

“Kyle Filipowski returned to Duke last season looking to improve his draft stock as a big man who can space the floor offensively and provide interior support on defense. The 7-foot big upped his 3-point shooting to 34.8% this season, and nearly doubled his blocks per game as well. While the offense is talked about often, his defense could be an underrated difference maker in the right system.

The stock for Filipowski remains even during the pre-draft process so far, with plenty of intriguing fits for his skillset in this range.”

It will be interesting to see how quickly Filipowski comes off the board in the second round on Thursday.